It's My Birthday, and I'm All Alone
by lily22
Summary: Not really that Angsty. Basically, Yugi's all alone on his special day.


Author's Note: This was inspired by the fact that it's my birthday, and none of my friends are coming over, because they're all on vacation, and so I'm home alone. Then, I just thought a bit, and I decided that this could become a great fic! You know your life is sad when every moment, you are looking for something that would make a good story. Then again, you also know it's sad when you're singing hymns in church, and you automatically flip through the hymnal to see if any hymns would go along well with Yugioh, but I'm getting off the topic. -_-"  
  
And, also, I do not own Yugioh, which is kind of obvious.  
  
  
  
Yugi woke to an ear-splitting racket coming from beside his bed. Cracking open one lead-weighted eyelid, his gaze fell upon the source of the raucous noise: his alarm clock. He turned the alarm off, and then grudgingly set it to once more rob him of his sleep the following morning.  
  
The boy struggled to get up, but collapsed into bed. With a grunt, he rolled over, falling to the floor in the process. "There has to be an easier way to wake up."  
  
Yugi grabbed his clothes, and was about to head to the shower when something caught his eye. ("It was his eye. It was." Sorry. Private joke.) He stared at the calendar for a couple of minutes. Grabbing his assignment book and flipping to the appropriate page, he carefully scanned over the columns.  
  
The Monday column was crammed with tortuous assignments that the teachers had spent all weekend cooking up, which were more time-consuming than difficult. On Tuesday, the homework had died down a bit, and by Wednesday, the amount of homework had reached a humanly do-able level. Thursday, however, was completely blank. There was no doubt about it. Today was Thursday, his birthday.  
  
Scribbling "Happy Birthday" in tiny letters at the very top of his Thursday column, he slammed the book shut and replaced it in his bag. Some birthday this would be, he thought with a sigh.  
  
  
  
The elderly man that owned the Turtle game shop was currently preparing breakfast. He looked up momentarily to catch his grandson coming down the stairs, backpack in hand.  
  
"Good morning, Yugi! Happy Birthday!"  
  
"Thanks, Grandpa." Yugi replied with a small smile.  
  
"What are you planning on doing to celebrate?"  
  
"Get beat up by the bullies."  
  
Yugi's grandfather looked with sorrow at the dejected boy before him. "Well, how about this: After school, you can invite your friends over, and we'll have a birthday party." He suggested.  
  
Yugi had to laugh at this, though it was a bitter one. "We don't have money to spare on birthday parties, and even if we did, I don't have any friends."  
  
Grandpa fell silent. 'Damn! I forgot! Doesn't he even have any acquaintances?' Suddenly, an idea dawned on him, but when he looked up, he found that his grandson had already left the shop.  
  
  
  
Violet eyes widened as the two bullies advanced on him. Yugi had just been leaving his locker when the bullies caught up to him. If only he'd been a minute earlier in leaving. Sensing his fright, the two taller boys cracked their knuckles menacingly. Then, the first one swung his fist at Yugi's face.  
  
  
  
Yugi got up with a groan. Luckily, the people who assigned lockers seemed to have some sort of foresight, because they had given Yugi the locker only a few paces from the nurses office.  
  
The nurse did not look surprised to see the student stumbling in, blood flowing freely from his nose. "Tsk"ing lightly, she once again bandaged the small boy's injuries, before sending him back off to class.  
  
  
  
Yugi somehow managed to avoid the bullies for the rest of the school day, and it was with much gratefulness that Yugi pushed open the door to the game shop.  
  
"Grandpa! I'm home!" Yugi called his customary greeting.  
  
"Yugi! I have something for you." Grandpa smiled. He pulled out a box, and handed it over to the birthday boy.  
  
"What is it?" Yugi inspected the box carefully. It seemed to be made of gold that had been pounded into a thin sheet, and then folded into a boxed shape, left plain but for a strange eye-shaped design in the middle. Carefully prying the lid off, Yugi found that inside were little pieces of gold. "What's this for?"  
  
"It's a puzzle. I know how much you like them, and this is a particularly challenging one."  
  
"Thanks, Grandpa!" Yugi chirped. He'd been rather bored lately, having completed the rest of the puzzles in the shop, but this one was strangely compelling.  
  
  
  
After hurrying through his homework, Yugi eagerly re-opened the box and dumped its contents on to his bed. Hopping on beside the small pieces, he began fitting them together.  
  
The pile of separate pieces shrank as time wore on, diminishing in number slowly, and gaining speed the whole time. By the time Yugi's grandfather called that dinner was ready, there were only a handful of pieces left.  
  
Then, there were five pieces sitting on the covers, each piece catching and reflecting the light. Four pieces... they seemed to shine with an inward brilliance. Three pieces... 'Are they calling out to me?' Two pieces... 'They're warm!' Yugi didn't stop there, though. 'There's only one piece left.'  
  
As the last rays of the setting sun shone through the opened window, there was a clink, and the puzzle was completed. Now, it was quite obvious that it wasn't reflecting any light, because there was none. It was somehow producing its own.  
  
Yugi sat, staring at the completed puzzle in his hands for a few seconds before it began floating upwards, and whilst the puzzle hovered in the air, a figure emerged.  
  
Yugi blinked for a moment. "Are you real?" He finally asked.  
  
The new person looked surprised. "Of course I'm real!" He snapped.  
  
Yugi didn't look put out, though. "Who are you?"  
  
The taller boy narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"  
  
"I asked first!"  
  
"I am Yami. Now, who are you?"  
  
"My name's Yugi. Nice to meet you!"  
  
"Yeah?" Yami's features softened. "Well, nice to meet you, too."  
  
"Bed time, Yugi!" Grandpa shouted from downstairs.  
  
"I have to go to bed now, Yami. Are you staying?" Receiving a nod, he continued. "Where are you sleeping?" Yami shrugged. "Wanna share my bed? It's pretty big!" Yugi suddenly began laughing happily.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"It's my birthday, but for once, I'm not all alone!" 


End file.
